Valentine’s Day and the brands we love

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Or not, maybe you loathe it,
I don’t know your life.

Either way, today is the day to blast your love into
someone’s face, even if they don’t know who you are. It’s not as horrific as it
sounds, in fact, some people are well into it. Here at Peppermint we thought we’d
use the opportunity to go around the office and hear some of the team’s
favourite love stories.

Who do we love? Let’s find out…

Lauren, Account Manager, loves: Google Assistant

Specifically, the recent Macaulay Culkin, Home Alone-style
Christmas advert. In a brilliantly unexpected slice of nostalgia, Google
managed to leave Kevin McCallister alone in that lovely house once again – but
this time, he’s using some modern smart features to protect himself from the
“Wet Bandits”.

Lauren says: “My social media blew up and people went nuts for it… I thought the ad was genius!”

Image courtesy of Google

Lucy, Senior Exec, loves: Greggs

Of course it’s the vegan sausage roll. This was sure to
cause a stir but it was Greggs’ handling of the situation that really won the
day. From the tongue-in-cheek Apple product-style launch video sent to
journalists, to the, quite frankly, masterful social media response ‘Hello
Piers, we’ve been expecting you’.

Lucy says: “I have spent around £20 on vegan sausage rolls in the past few weeks… It’s been my favourite social media moment of the year so far.”

Image courtesy of Greggs

Charys, Account Exec, loves: Burger King

In a recent, very powerful campaign, Burger King used its huge reach to raise awareness around bullying. Using hidden cameras, real people and actors, the ad showed a high school junior being harassed by a gang of boys, to which sadly around 90% of people turned a blind eye. However, when they found their Whopper JR had been quite hilariously bullied by a member of staff, around 90% of people stood up for the burger. It’s a mix of very funny and shocking.

Charys says: “I love the fact that such a well-known brand used its status to raise awareness and spread an important message like this one.”

Image courtesy of Burger King

Will, Digital Project Director, loves: Google Play

The “big G” again. Have you bought loads of VHS movies only
to find you have to buy them again on DVD? Then on Blu-Ray? Then on digital HD?
How many more times will you buy “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!”? Well, thanks to
Google, maybe never again. It’s recently announced that any movies you have
purchased through its Play Store in HD will automatically be upgraded to 4K
when they become available. That’s really nice of them!

Will says: “Google Play has dealt a major blow in their price war with Amazon, by future-proofing its customers and the company – smart move.”

Image courtesy of Google

Jo, Account Director, loves: Netflix

Who doesn’t, right? Jo is talking specifically about the now
infamous Fyre Festival and Netflix’s documentary content surrounding it.
Organisers described the event as a once-in-a -lifetime luxury festival – it
turned out to be anything but. In fact, it was so badly organised, the whole
thing was pulled just as revellers arrived. Was it a scam or just a cautionary
tale of people getting in way over their heads? Either way, Netflix pounced and
provided a feature length slice of madness.

Jo says: “Oh my God!”

Image courtesy of Netflix

Gary, Designer, loves: Nintendo

Rumours have been flying around for a couple of years about a
highly anticipated video game from Nintendo. A sequel fans have been waiting
over a decade for, the latest instalment in its critically acclaimed “Metroid”
series. Gamers had been feverishly refreshing their social media in
anticipation of a teaser trailer expected to arrive at any moment, but they got
something else instead. Nintendo’s Head of Development, one of the company’s most
senior figures, posted a video apology stating the entire game had been
scrapped and they were starting again, explaining it simply wasn’t good enough.
As they said “a good game may be delayed but a bad game is bad forever”. Fans’
initial disappointment gave way to admiration for the company’s honesty and
humility and, once again, feverish anticipation was resumed.

Gary says: “Being transparent and humble with your customers in times of crisis is like a guaranteed win. If you mess up, just tell everyone and go again – see also: KFC.”

Image courtesy of Nintendo

Everyone has a brand or brand experience they love; think about why that is and what you can do to help your customers fall in love with you – or maybe we could help?